Reusable Bi Stable Drinking Straw

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a bi-stable and reusable drinking straw that is able to obtain multiple physical positions. The device is comprised of magnets enclosed in the body of the flexible material of the present invention. Said device is used as a drinking straw when set in a closed coiled position. The linear position allows for the user to conveniently clean the present invention after each use.

BACKGROUND Copyright Notice

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of making a drinking straw andespecially to a method of making a drinking straw that is able to obtaintwo physical positions using magnets, opened and coiled, creating a moreconvenient drinking implement.

Description of the Related Art

The following background information may present examples of specificaspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts,or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educatethe reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof,to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.

Plastic and paper straws having a tubular body open at opposite remoteends are in common use for ingesting a liquid. One open end of the strawis inserted in the liquid housed within a container or drinking glassand the other end is inserted in the mouth of the user. Suction isapplied to the tube end in the user's mouth to draw the liquid in thecontainer through the opposite end of the tubular body into the mouth.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,527 to Gamblin, Jr. proposes a solution to theproblem of liquid spillage through a straw seated in a container.According to the disclosure of this patent, a drinking straw is providedwith a one-way, one-piece flow valve to normally prevent flow of liquidinto the straw. The application of suction interiorly of the straw issaid to collapse an elastic member permitting fluid to flow. Terminationof the suction is said to permit the elastic member to re-expand andseal the straw. The elastic member is attached to the straw at theentrance end of the straw or is disposed within and completely acrossthe interior of the straw.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,814 to Conn discloses a beverage container thatincludes a built-in straw. According to the proposal of this patent, acontainer is provided with an internal vertical tube and an externaltube or straw that connects to the internal vertical tube. The straw canbe used to seal the container by turning, which results in disalignmentof portholes in the external and internal tubes. Further turning of theexternal tube aligns the portholes allowing the tube to be used as adrinking straw.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,173 to Ruiz proposes a leak proof closure forcontainers such as plastic or paper cups used primarily in fast foodrestaurants. A special container lid is provided with an orifice throughwhich a straw can be inserted and the lid also includes an anchorage forengaging the drinking end of the straw. After the straw has beeninserted through the orifice, it is bent at a location above the orificeand the drinking end of the straw is engaged with the anchorage member,thereby securing the straw in a bent position and preventing leakagethrough the straw in the event that the container is knocked over.

None of the prior art methods have been found to be completely suitableto meet these needs and are cumbersome. The present invention providessuch a method and the overall combination of these features is nowheredisclosed in the prior art cited above which appears to berepresentative of the general art in this area although it is notintended to be an all-inclusive listing of pertinent prior art patents.

SUMMARY

In light of the disadvantages of the prior art, the following summary isprovided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovativefeatures unique to the present invention and is not intended to be afull description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of theinvention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, andabstract as a whole.

The present invention is a drinkable straw that is reusable and easy toclean and is able to obtain two physical positions, opened and coiled,creating a more convenient solution for drinking.

Another objective of the present invention is to improve upon theconstruction of such straws, whereby an end of the straw is reinforcedto prevent collapse during use.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a novelty drinking strawincludes a straw for receiving a liquid, where the straw is formed as ahollow tubular member having a length and a circumference by providing adrinkable straw that is reusable and easy to clean. A reusable bi-stabledrinking straw that is able to obtain two physical positions, opened andcoiled, creating a more convenient drinking implement.

It is principal object of the invention to provide a re-usable drinkingstraw which can be opened to a flat position by un-attaching themagnetic seals from the coiled device, causing the device to open andun-coil, remaining in a stable open configuration. Said position isideal to clean the device after each use without the need of an extracleaning implement.

Another significant embodiment of the present invention is a drinkingstraw that may be constructed from at least one of paper, metal, andplastic, and may include an anti-bacterial material. A logo or otherdesign may be printed on the cover for aesthetic look.

A further object of this invention is to provide a drinking straw whichis inexpensive to manufacture, is of rugged construction, and providesmaximum utility to its user.

This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some exampleembodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects ofthe subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciatedthat the above-described features are merely examples and should not beconstrued to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter describedherein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter described herein will become apparent from the followingDetailed Description, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an environmental view.

FIG. 2 is a bi-stable and reusable view of drinking straw.

FIG. 3 is a view of open linear position.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

The apparatus and method components have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments ofthe present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with detailsthat will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the described embodiments or the application anduses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary”or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, orillustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or“illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other implementations. All of the implementationsdescribed below are exemplary implementations provided to enable personsskilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure andare not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is definedby the claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by anyexpressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field,background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It isalso to be understood that the specific devices and processes describedin the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of theinventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Specific dimensionsand other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosedherein are therefore not to be considered as limiting, unless the claimsexpressly state otherwise.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by onehaving an ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs. Itwill be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonlyused dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and thepresent disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overlyformal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

In describing the invention, it will be understood that a number oftechniques are disclosed. Each of these has individual benefit and eachcan also be used in conjunction with one or more, or in some cases all,of the other disclosed techniques. Accordingly, for the sake of clarity,this description will refrain from repeating possible combination in anunnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specifications and claim/s shouldbe read with the understanding that such combinations are entirelywithin the scope of the invention and the claim/s.

The method of the present invention is that it relates to a reusablebi-stable drinking straw that is able to obtain two physical positions,opened and coiled, creating a more convenient drinking implement.

Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a device thatwill curve and coil in the transverse direction to form a hollow tubularbody with a top opening and a bottom opening. The hollow tube opening,created longitudinally through the device, allows users to use thepresent invention as a drinking straw to consume any drinkable liquidfrom a cup, glass, bottle, can, or the like. Relatively thin, elongatedpermanent magnets placed within each distal side edge of the presentinvention will create a magnetic seal to secure the device in a stablecoiled position

When the main body of the present invention extends and is opened, thedevice will remain in a stable flat position for better cleaning of thestraw to make it re-usable. This is achieved by un-attaching themagnetic seals from the coiled device, causing the device to open andun-coil, remaining in a stable open configuration.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1, 2, 3 illustrate the straws and itsvarious embodiments.

Being manufactured all with a material to be used for hot or coldbeverages or foods, which is completely inert and non-reactive whenheated or cooled. The straw can be used at home or brought to a retailstore to be used in lieu of the disposable plastic beverage straws thatare commonly used.

From the foregoing it can be realized that the described device of thepresent invention may be easily and conveniently utilized as a drinkingstraw. It is to be understood that any dimensions given herein areillustrative, and are not meant to be limiting.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction andin the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided thatsuch changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claimsare hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

1) The invention is a drinkable straw with ability to achieve twopositions, opened and coiled. 2) A straw for receiving a liquid, thestraw comprising a hollow tubular member having a length and acircumference. 3) Converting the straw to a flat position byun-attaching the magnetic seals from the coiled device, causing thedevice to open and un-coil, remaining in a stable open configuration.